🔗 Share this article

The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Legends often do not capture the full reality, even for the most powerful characters in this story's intricate past. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley narrative serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Legends often do not capture the full reality, even for the most powerful characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Man Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, both to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was only echoing the World Government's approved version of events, the exact narrative Imu approved to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to prevent the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the time jump, when he endangered all to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandchild. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The truth reveals something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection recounted by Loki, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as completely truthful. The series may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently embodies the notion that history is written by the victors. This attitude is {